Special envoy to Madagascar
The village of Betsimieda, in the heart of the Androy region in the extreme south of Madagascar, is home to two large wells.
Drilling carried out in 2019 thanks to European aid, but which has not been used much.
“They
've
been dry for almost two years
,” explains Soalhatra, a 44-year-old villager.
It hasn't rained since January and nothing is growing in the fields.
It's the kéré, ”he
summarizes, fatalistic.
In the Antandroy language, the region's ethnic group, “kéré” means famine linked to drought.
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Without water, this father of 15 children cannot grow cassava or beans as he used to and earns a living by going to fill water cans in the nearest town, Ambovombe, 10 km away by road, by renting a cart pulled by two zebus.
On each 250-liter barrel sold to the village, he can hope to pocket 5,000 ariary, a little over 1 euro.
The situation is even more desperate for others, such as Séraphine, a 28-year-old widow and mother of 8 children: she
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